Party Saboteurs: Splitscreen Spying And Sniping

Pretending to be an NPC can be a right lark, and so can gunning down your pals as they act harmless, the likes of Spy Party and Hidden in Plain Sight show us. More spy-o-NPC-a-shooters are certainly welcome, so here, wave, bow, curtsy, or simply say hullo to Party Saboteurs [official site].

It’s an upcoming split-screen multiplayer espionage ’em up, where up to eight players are both spy and sniper, trying to complete tasks in bustling levels while spotting – and shooting – other players. Have a peek:

What interests me is that it looks like peeking at other player’s portions of the screen is essential, rather than cheating (see also: Screencheat). Developers The Glitch Factory explain in a forum post:

“The thing is, you don’t have to always keep your aim (camera) on your character, if you do it, you’ll make it easier for the other players to identify your spy. You should try to move your spy by orientating yourself while peeking at the other’s players screens.

“So, at the same time that you are moving your spy peekin at the other players screens, trying to be natural (remember that you have to blend in with the npcs), you are also observing the party with your sniper to find the enemy spies. As you can imagine, the game is a little bit chaotic (a really funny kind of chaos).”

I do enjoy local multiplayer games increasingly rolling with screencheating as a creative opportunity to be enjoyed, rather than a frustrating sneaky tactic employed only by rapscallions.

The game’s made for four people really, with the spy and sniper side each on one side of a controller, but does support up to eight with controller sharing. Local multiplayer is in, and The Glitch Factory are hoping to add online multiplayer and singleplayer too.

Party Saboteurs is due on Windows and Mac later this year or early next year. It’s having a crack at Steam Greenlight.